The present invention is related to an air-liquid separating method and apparatus for compressed air. By means of this method, the power consumed during air-liquid separation procedure is reduced. In addition, the conventional air cooled drier is unnecessary so that the cost for the equipment is saved and the problem resulted from failure of the air cooled drier is avoided.
In a factory, when using pneumatic tool in operation line, generally high pressure air is filled into the pneumatic tool. In condition of high temperature, it is very easy to produce water which is entrained by the high pressure air filled into the pneumatic tool. The water tends to remain in the pneumatic tool to result in rusting of internal parts of the pneumatic tool. This will affect the quality and operation effect of the pneumatic tool.
In order to overcome the above problem, the high pressure air will first flow through an air cooled drier for removing the water entrained by the high pressure air. Then the air free from the water is injected into the pneumatic tool. Accordingly, the pneumatic tool is prevented from being damaged by the water and the using life of the pneumatic tool is prolonged.
However, the air cooled drier necessitates much power for operation so that the power consumption is great. Moreover, the air cooled drier is quite expensive so that the cost is increased.
Furthermore, in case that the air cooled drier fails, it takes much time to repair the air cooled drier and the operation procedure of the operation line will be affected.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide an air-liquid separating method and apparatus for compressed air. In this method, by means of water cooling measure and natural decrement of temperature due to relief of pressure, the high pressure air is cooled without consuming any power. Therefore, the air cooled drier in the conventional device is unnecessary so that the problem resulted from failure of the air cooled drier is avoided. The cooling tube has a diameter larger than that of the transfer tube so that the high pressure air goes from a smaller room into a larger room and the pressure is relieved. The temperature of the high pressure air is lowered due to relief of the pressure. In addition, the flowing speed of the high pressure air is slowed down to prolong the time for which the high pressure air stays in the cooling tank. Under such multifold effects, the cooling effect of the cooling tank is enhanced. When the high pressure air enters the air-liquid separating tank, the temperature of the air is approximately lowered to the dew point and a great amount of vapor contained in the high pressure air is condensed into liquid water and thus separated from the high pressure air.